The headquarters of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve is located on Canal Street in New Orleans. This unique park was established to preserve the natural history and cultural resources of the lower Mississippi Delta region. It is composed of six separate sites scattered throughout southeastern Louisiana. The park illustrates the region’s evolution and cultural influences. The most popular visitor center is located in the heart of the French Quarter and Garden District on Decatur Street, where walking tours trace the city’s Creole and American heritage. Another site covers the 1815 Battle of New Orleans at Chalmette. The Acadian Unit, with cultural centers located at Eunice, Lafayette, Thibodaux, Charenton, and Marksville, highlights the Acadian culture of Louisiana’s swamps and prairie.

The Barataria Preserve Unit near Marrero displays the natural and cultural history of the marshlands.

At the Prairie Acadian Cultural Center in Eunice, visitors can view a photographic exhibit of the history of the Cajun population, and at the same time enjoy some lively zydeco music, which features the sounds of accordions, washboards, and guitars, with lyrics sung in vernacular French Cajun. The center explains the area’s Creole lineage (a hybrid of Spanish and French), and offers cooking demonstrations of delicious Cajun dishes such as gumbo and jambalaya. There is no admission fee to the center.

Eunice hosts the World Championship Crawfish Etouffe\351 Cookoff in late March, as well as the lively Cajun Prairie Folklife Festival in October each year.